Warning: This story contains major spoilers from the season finale ofThe Blacklist.
Read at your own risk.
“This imposter theory is one that’s alive among our fan base,” Bokenkamp says.
William Hart/NBC
What’s really going on here?
Bokenkamp teases what’s in store for season 5.
(Read our postmortem with Megan Boone.)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Red has been revealed as Liz’s father.
Has this been the plan from the beginning?
JON BOKENKAMP:Yes, it has been.
How hard was it keeping this reveal a secret all these years?
I always feel it’s probably best to let the episodes speak best for themselves.
Isn’t this the obvious answer the fans have been expecting from the beginning?
Why confirm what everyone has basically said since season 1?
Because it is part of the truth, but not the entire [thing].
Talk about that bigger secret.
That bag of bones represents a much larger story that is the ultimate hook of the show.
All I can really say is, it is a piece of a much larger puzzle.
Tom has the suitcase.
Can you talk about whether he’ll struggle with the decision to give Liz the suitcase?
Oh, yeah, I’m confident Tom will struggle.
He has no idea what he’s gotten into.
That suitcase is packed full of nothing but problems for Reddington.
That’s a good road to go down.
That seems like a logical explanation.
Katarina was never seen again, so yes, that’s a good theory probably.
Another theory: Could they be Raymond Reddington’s bones?
That could also be a good theory.
I love the way you look at this.
Look, they could be anyone, right?
But they’re going to be a problem, a real problem, if Liz finds out about them.
These bones are a key to unlocking everything, and Red is not ready for that yet.
Can these DNA results actually be trusted given where they came from?
So yes, I think we should trust that.
How does knowing that these bones are out there affect Red?
Kaplan was his most trusted confidante, knew deep truths.
Even now, her death presents a catastrophic problem.
I think he’s terrified.
By the way, the other thing that’s interesting is, he has been reduced to rubble.
His empire has been ripped apart, he’s left with nothing.
How will this change Liz going into next season now knowing who Red is to her?
I don’t entirely know, but I would expect to see her explore that.
So I would expect her to explore that darker side that is in her blood.
How will the team react to this news?
The team doesn’t know anything about it yet.
I think they’d all react in very different ways.
They’ve also all got their own problemsor good situations.
I think they’ll all react in different ways and it’ll be incredibly complex.
It’ll be a great pull for our people to give a shot to rally together.
Remember, Julian Gale is still out there with his investigation of the task force.
That’s going to be a good story.
Is this still a possibility considering the twist that you have in store for us?
Will Dom play a bigger role next season?
I love Brian Dennehy, so it’s hard to resist bringing him in.
He’s a great actor and we’re lucky to have him on the show.
He definitely is part of the landscape and occupies an important space.
You see that play out on screen.
He is somebody who obviously does not like Reddington.
They have a fraught relationship.
He’s an important character in the mythology.
Is Mr. Kaplan actually dead?
And can you talk about the reason why she went over the bridge?
Even with her dead, her plan is marching forward.
And so is she really dead?
It’s like whenAlan Aldadied, it broke my heart.
We blew up Alan Alda, who is a TV legend.
Sometimes you have to listen to the show and where it wants to go.
That was a really hard death in the show, and this one as well.
Circling back to the task force, Laurel Hitchin dies right after closing the investigation.
Will that raise some red flags?
That depends on how her death is handled.
We’ll see how well Mr. Prescott gets rid of her body.
But I’m sure there will be questions raised.
Even with the investigation closed, with the news out there, will the task force be disbanded?
The news is out there in a closed grand jury investigation, which is containable.
It’s not that out there to the public.
It’s contained within the intelligence community that was confusing this investigation.
The bigger problem is that Reddington has really no resources.
Baz was killed, Mr. Kaplan is gone.
It’s basically he and Dembe, and he’s starting over, in a way.
What kind of danger does this put Liz in as Red’s organization is all but non-existent now?
Will we see Red rebuilding next year?
Does Liz join him in that rebuilding?
What does that look like?
He’s got to rebuild his team, which means populating it with new people.
He’s not just taking down blacklisters because they stand in his way.
Red has an escape plan with that island.
Will that come back into play next season?
Well, I hadn’t thought about it until now, but yeah, that’s a great idea!
Red in a crisp white suit.
Drinks in coconuts with umbrellas.
Bottle episode on the island!
The Blacklistwill return toNBCWednesdays this fall.
